Sword of Komorebi
by RedVoidWriting
Summary: Awakened to his powerlessness, a wandering ninja seeks a new power.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke's jet black hair was stained red as he lifted her up, searching ravenously for her eyes. But Sakura's eyes would not open, despite his arms supporting her which always seemed to light her eyes up like a pair of stars hanging in the sky.

"He's coming, sir," said a mist Jonin. The red clouds were culminating around the destroyed battlefield.

It almost made Sasuke laugh when he realized that he originally told the Mizukage's three mist Jonin that he did not need their help. But try as he might, he could not laugh when he realized that Sakura was so worried about his safety that she came as well.

 _Damn it, Naruto. What is taking you so long?_

The sage of six paths should have given him _both_ halves of six paths chakra. The other half would spare him the agony of watching his cherry blossom fade before his eyes.

Finally, they opened - her eyes.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Sasuke cajoled, trying to put on a brave face.

"Sasuke… We… Won?" she said. She smiled sweetly and grazed his face with the back of her hand. He loved it when she did that.

"We won." He kept targeting her, afraid that if he broke eye contact he would lose her again. "Naruto will be here soon. When he comes you'll…"

"We…?" she manage to say.

She's right. It was the first time he used that silly pronoun. He just did not want to put the burden of performance on her. It seemed easier to say, "I'll protect you." or "I'll complete the mission." than ask the same of her or anyone else.

He grasped her hand firmly.

Sasuke truly believed in his friend in that moment. He had to. But, life is never that simple. One of the Jonin approached with a wilted head and said, "Sir… Sir… He's not coming. Naruto, sir."

Sasuke's heart pulsed and in that second he felt every ounce of strength drain from his body. This was not the world he once knew. It was far too evil, too demonic.

"Hey," said Sakura sweetly, "Don't be mad… Don't be mad… Okay?"

The frailty of her breath opened Sasuke up further to her next words.

"I taught you… Better… Than that…"

She was gone.

The glossiness of her lips and the softness of her face betrayed her condition, but she was gone.

He lay her down slowly, propping her up against a nearby rock.

Sasuke did not blame Naruto. It was thanks to Naruto that he was able to have a relationship with Sakura in the first place. He promised Sakura he would never blame Naruto for anything ever again.

It was just… If he had the power. If he could give life as well as take it - things would have been different.

His eyes drifted toward the swirling clouds.

This was not the world he knew.

XXX

Sasuke was fervently running through the trees. His destination? Kirigakure.

A wandering monk informed him that the village of Kirigakure had a towering mountain, and atop the mountain there was a sword with powerful life-giving properties. His power would be complete at last. He would never have to see another one of his loved ones die before his eyes.

He approached a small village where a rickety old man was giving him the eye.

"What's a ninja like you doing here?" said the old man.

"Show me where the life-giving blade is, old man." said Sasuke.

Suddenly, Sasuke was interrupted by a younger man with a fire in his eyes. "Sword? You search for the Sword of Komorebi!?"

"Where is this... Sword of Komorebi?" said Sasuke, pleased to finally put a name to it.

"The sword has long been lost…" said the boy crossing his arms. "It's wielder was one who once protected this village, and when he left the sword stayed." The boy looked uncomfortable, but finally he pointed to a pointy mountain about ten miles to the east. "It sits atop there if you truly seek it but… it only appears once a year. But…! Every man from this village that has tried to obtain it has never come back including… including my father…" The boy sighed. "If you still want to go, today is the day."

"Thank you," said Sasuke. He smirked at the thought that any danger would get the best of him. It was beyond his imagination with all that he had achieved. All the power he had obtained.

He climbed the tallest building he could find, and from there he looked for a rock at the top of the pointed mountain.

"That one will do," said Sasuke.

In an instant he was atop the mountain. Transported by the overwhelming power of his eyes.

He faltered.

The first thing he noticed was how hard to breathe it suddenly became. It was not the change in elevation that was to blame but the figure standing right in front of him.

This "guardian" was much more monster than man.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke sized up his opponent atop the mountain.

He was formless, yet he had the resemblance of a man that looked oddly familiar. In his hand was a glowing sword.

"State your purpose," said the guardian.

"I seek the Sword of Komorebi," said Sasuke, unflinching.

Sasuke remembered what the child said about men from the village that went up this mountain and never came back. This - thing must have killed them.

"I am the spirit of one who wielded me," said the guardian, "this sword is the embodiment of his will."

Sasuke knew where this was going - but he was not about to prove himself to anyone.

AMATERASU 

A black flame suddenly engulfed the guardian and Sasuke could not help but smirk.

Sasuke walked slowly toward the sword that was on the ground and bent down to pick it up. Before he could even touch the sword, however, it turned to dust.

Sasuke's eyes shifted to the figure that appeared above him. It was the guardian again - sword in hand.

The guardian plunged the sword into the ground, shattering a rock but missing Sasuke who switched places with the rock moments earlier.

"Your anger burns deep. It clouds your judgement," said the guardian.

Sasuke was not in the mood to be lectured by some ghost, so as soon as he had the opportunity, he made a move for the sword - and - he could have sworn he touched it but the sword passed right through his hands like light. _Was this creature using the Kamui technique?_

"You are weak, young one," said the guardian.

Sasuke spent the rest of the night vying for the sword but to no avail. Finally, there was only minutes left in the day.

"Train. Train at the bottom of the mountain, young one." said the guardian, "Then, you will find the power that you seek."

Sasuke regained his breath for a moment and then stood up straight. "I have no choice," Sasuke muttered to himself.

Then, the guardian and the sword vanished.

Sasuke transported himself to the bottom of the mountain, where the village was.

"Hey," said Sasuke to the boy. "Tell me more about this guardian."

XXX

The boy had spent hours telling him about this strong and brave guardian whom appeared out of nowhere and protected the village from ninja ambushes for months during the Second Great Ninja War.

"But, he didn't just protect us," said the boy, "he helped us. Like, when we were storing food he would take a sack of grain on his back. And, when we were chopping wood he would pick up an axe. He was so cool."

"Interesting," said Sasuke. He took another sip of tea.

Sasuke was already plenty strong, but this thing about helping out in mundane tasks - it seemed alien to him.

"Do you have a place for me to stay?" said Sasuke.

"Sure," said the boy, "I'll ask my mom."

XXX

Sasuke woke up the next day feeling mentally fatigued. He had a nightmare that he would have for a long time. The night he lost his wife.

He turned his head and saw the boy chopping small logs as the golden wheat danced in the fields.

Suddenly, he found himself outside with him with an outstretched hand.

"You're gonna help?" asked the boy.

"To repay your mother for giving me a place to sleep," said Sasuke.

Maybe it was because he was feeling so rejected by the world that let his wife die, but acts of kindness like the one the boy's mom showed him made him feel - grateful.

"After this, I want to show you grandpa." said the kid, "He fought alongside the guardian thirty years ago! Or at least that is what he says."


	3. Chapter 3

"You have to help us!" said the boy's grandpa, thrusting his wrinkled body onto an inwardly flustered Sasuke.

"Tell me about the guardian," said Sasuke.

The old man was stunned long enough for Sasuke to notice the long blade on his creaky shelf - it was just like the one the guardian had.

Sasuke reached for the sword but the old man suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled it away from the shelf.

"That's just a replica," said the old man, as if he could read Sasuke's thoughts. Then, he collapsed on his beige sofa. "The men from the village. So many have gone missing trying to get the 'real' sword… I was the first to try… and the only one to return."

Sasuke listened intently.

The old man continued, "I want to… I want to avenge them. But, I'm too old…"

"Don't lie to me, old man," said Sasuke, "you're fast…"

 _Even my eyes had trouble tracking him,_ thought Sasuke. Who was this man?

"I was the protector of the village," the old man said, "but then _he_ came along."

 _He_. The person he spoke of could only be-

"The guardian," Sasuke echoed.

"Yes," said the old man. "That guardian came along and ruined everything. He was strong. Stronger than all of us."

Some people might have been confused. But Sasuke knew exactly why the old man hated him.

"When this guardian came along, the villagers didn't need you anymore," Sasuke whispered.

"I trained so hard. For so long," said the old man. "He said we should work together to protect the village. But the only thing I was interested in was beating him."

The old man's expression changed, softened. His anger melted into regret and swirled in a shadow of sadness.

"I should have listened to him."

XXX

"Fall back! Protect the village!" said a tall man clad in armor. Bombs were exploding all around them, and enemy ninja were raiding the village. "I will take care of the enemy leader. Fall back!"

The old man, thirty years younger, ignored the guardian. "You just want to take all the glory for yourself," he said, charging up the mountain.

Suddenly a scream from the village. The old man's wife.

XXX

"I should have listened to him," said the old man, as silent tears strolled down his cheeks.

In a break of character, Sasuke grabbed the old man's shoulder and said a silent prayer. This old man was more like him than he cared to mention.

"So, what do we do now?" Sasuke said, looking at the old man with a new respect.

"We train." the old man said, pausing for a second, "together."

XXX

Sasuke was surprised by the old man's swiftness. He parried his blows with a sword the old man lent him, but he could barely keep up.

"What's your name, old man?" Sasuke asked.

"Shikai," the old man said proudly. "You're not bad, Sasuke. But luckily for you, my back is becoming more stiff than my blade."

Instead of proving him wrong with a swift chidori stream, Sasuke just smirked. Better to let the dog have his day.

As old man Shikai jumped in order to execute the sword-breaker technique, Sasuke saw an opening. "There." said Sasuke, thrusting his blade across Shikai's rib cage.

Suddenly, Shikai was behind him, but with the Sharingan Sasuke was able to predict the additional attack and his arm reflexively swung back.

However, instead of hearing an old man screech, Sasuke felt his knee buckle. The old man kicked it in, proceeding to put his sword across his jugular in a splay of victory.

"Wh-What the hell," said Sasuke.

 _That attack just now. It was just like the Uchiha teleportation technique_.

Before Sasuke had a chance to ask questions, the young boy from before burst in yelling.

"Hey! Are you gonna save my dad?"

Sasuke stood up and looked at Shikai. No way was he going to get into a touchy subject if he did not have to.

The old man sighed and then levelled himself with the child. "Your dad is gone. Remember?"

"Yeah, he left. But that means he could still be out there!" said the boy. "If this stranger is almost as strong as you. Then you could work together and-"

"We'll look for him. But, we are not making any promises." said Sasuke. His words surprised even himself.

Sasuke still had 364 days to train for his fateful battle with the guardian. What harm would come out of just one day of looking?

"Stop." said Sasuke to the boy.

But the boy did not stop. His swelling eyes kept admiring him as if Sasuke were the guardian himself.


End file.
